I crossed another one off the list last night. After decades of hearing (and liking) Ted Nugent’s hits on the radio I finally got around to seeing him live. After witnessing the performance I caught myself asking myself what on earth were you waiting for? Apparently, it was for the stars to be in just the right alignment. Ted Nugent kicked ass tonight in front of a packed house. Now if you want to talk politics you can go read somebody else’s so-called review. Yes, Nugent is very opinionated. And yes, he brings some of that into his shows. But I was here for the music and that’s what I’m sticking to. A good song is good on its’ own merit, independent of the artist who created it. And it will stand the test of time. Performance-wise, I can’t tell you if Nugent is better or worse now than in his younger days, but a friend of mine who has seen many Nugent performances, including this one, is of the opinion that Nugent seems to take it up a notch each time he sees him. Simply put, it was a good night of rock and roll.

Opening up the evening was Val Halla, a singer/songwriter originally from Canada and now living in Nashville. It’s not easy being the lead-in to the hard rocking Nugent but this girl did an admirable job. She’s a very appealing, fun and sexy front lady who sings all the lead and plays high energy guitar as well. Backed by a solid trio of Neal Davis on guitar, Alex Ferreiro on bass, and Marty Higman on drums (who all hail from Texas as per Halla), these guys pulled out all the stops. I particularly enjoyed “Bad Girl Touch. If you get the chance you might want to go see this band. For more info go to www.valhallaonline.com.

As for the Nugent show, Ted’s lineup of Greg Smith on bass (he’s played with Dokken, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Alan Parsons, even way back to Tommy James) and Mick Brown on drums (Dokken, Montrose) provide a more than solid rhythm section. These dudes can bring it. And this was the lineup for about two thirds of the show. At that point things really turned up a notch as Derek St. Holmes made it a foursome. Nugent sort of gave a clue things were about to get hopped up when he played “Soul Man” in the threesome. That surprised me. After that, out comes St. Holmes for a rousing version of “Hey Baby”, and the rest of the night was underway. It was a great boost of energy at just the right time.

There was little to complain about as far as the set list was concerned; it was built to please. “Wango Tango”? It was there. “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang”? Did that one too. “Free For All”, “Need You Bad”, and “Trample the Weak” were also performed pre-St. Holmes. Post-St. Holmes found us treated to one classic after another. If you wanted “Stranglehold” you got it. “Great White Buffalo”? You had to wait until the end but he got to that one too. Rounding out the show were other great Nugent classics like “Stormtroopin”, “Just What the Doctor Ordered”, and “Cat Scratch Fever”.

Finally, the stage set was classic Nugent. Machine guns, animal skins, crossbow, etc. He brought lots of stuff from his toy box. And behind everything, partially hidden by amps, drums, etc. was the backdrop mural of Ted riding shotgun on a tank trampling all his political opposites from Hitler to Michael Moore to Obama. Basic lighting, his big-ass cowboy hat (replaced by the Indian head dress for “Great White Buffalo”), the red, white, and blue guitar, and the Gibson Byrdland all added to the Nugent ambiance. Throw it all into the fantastic venue that is the Wildhorse Saloon and it was a memorable night of pure, unadulterated rock. You can get more info on Nugent at www.tednugent.com.   

Ted Nugent w Val Halla @ Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville, TN 7/14/2010